Common vetch grain as a protein supplement for dairy cows

Abstract

Proc. Aust. Soc. Anim. Prod. 1996 Vol. 21 COMMON VETCH GRAIN AS A PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT FOR DAIRY COWS S.C. VALENTINE and B.D. BARTSCH Primary Industries (South Australia), Flaxley Agricultural Centre, Box 157 1, Flaxley, S.A. 5 153 Grain of common vetch (Vicia saliva L.) is available in South Australia as an alternative to lupin grain which is commonly used as a protein supplement for dairy cows. Although the presence of toxins limits the inclusion of common vetch in pig (Van Barneveld, pers. comm.) and poultry diets (Glatz and Hughes 1993), there is little information on the suitability of common vetch as a protein supplement in dairy cow rations. This experiment compared the production and composition of milk by cows fed either lupin (12.3 MJ ME/kg DM, 29.8% CP) or common vetch cv. Blanche Fleur (12.5 MJ ME/kg DM, 29.3% CP) grains, as protein supplements to a silage and pasture-based diet. Forty Holstein-Friesian cows in the first or second month of lactation were allocated to groups of 2 based on similarity in calving date and milk fat yield recorded during a 14-day covariance period. Cows within each group were allocated at random to be fed 8 kg/day of either a rolled 1: 1 barley-lupin grain mixture or 1: 1 barley-vetch grain mixture. All cows were fed 1 kg/day of a commercial pelleted mineral/vitamin/buffer supplement which was mixed with the grain. The treatment diets were fed twice daily at milking for a loday adaptation period and 49-day test period. Cows were managed as a single herd with wilted, round bale pasture silage (9.1 MJ ME/kg DM, 17.3% CP) available ad Zibitum together with restricted perennial ryegrass/subterranean clover pasture (11.7 MJ ME/kg DM, 15.8% CP). Milk yield and composition were recorded 3 times each week and liveweight once each week. Silage intake for both treatment groups was recorded during the last 14 days of the test period. Table 1. Covariance-corrected mean daily yields of milk and milk components, milk composition, liveweight and liveweight change of cows fed lupin or vetch grain Although common vetch grain was readily eaten by dairy cows when fed as a component of a concentrate mixture with barley grain, it was less suitable than lupin grain as a protein supplement for dairy cows fed a diet based on silage and pasture in early lactation. GLATZ, P.C. and HUGHES, R.J. (1993). Proceedings of the Australian Poultry Science Symposium, Sydney, p.90. 350